'Last piece in Pratt Street puzzle' goes for $16.4 million

November 21, 2013|By Natalie Sherman

The parking lot across from Harborplace, once called the "last piece of the Pratt Street puzzle," sold this summer for $16.4 million.

The brokerage representing seller UrbanAmerica Advisors LLC announced the sale to Chicago-based parking garage operator and developer Interpark Holdings in August without disclosing the sum. The sale of the property, located at 300 East Pratt Street and identified in state and city records as 301 East Lombard Street, has since been recorded in the state's system.

In 2006, the land, one of the Inner Harbor's last undeveloped parcels, sold for $27.5 million.

That roughly 40 percent drop in value is similar to the decline noted in Tuesday's story about the sale and redevelopment of the Equitable Building, where the property's price dropped from $11.5 million in 2004 to $7.2 million this year.

The recession stalled previous plans to develop the roughly one acre East Pratt Street lot, the former site of the News-American. Interpark Holdings could not be reached for comment about their plans for the property.

In August, Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, said Interpark plans to redevelop the site, which has been vacant for more than two decades, as a mixed-use project.

The City Council approved an ordinance in August to allow the site to operate as a parking lot for up to six more years, but requiring the owner to substantial progress on a development plan.